Here Comes the Sun
by savvyliterate
Summary: Every story needs an ending. After the battle to save Taforashia, Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadiss, and Pokota do what it takes to go on with their lives.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.

**Spoiler Alert: **This fic begins during episode 12 of Slayers Evolution-R and continues through the end of the series. It will contain major spoilers for the entire series, and is my interpretation of what an epilogue could be like for this series.

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Prologue: The Land of Confusion

_I won't be coming home tonight.  
My generation will put it right.  
We're not just making promises,  
That we know, we'll never keep.  
- "The Land of Confusion": Genesis, 1986_

_-----_

_Kingdom of Taforashia - Two hours before the battle between Lina Inverse and Rezo the Red Priest_

Gourry Gabriev wasn't known for his brains - even he knew that fact. Magic, history, books … he left those things to Lina Inverse. That was her world, and he was happy enough playing the role of bodyguard and sometimes baby-sitter to not worry too much about it. Lina could chatter for hours on end about obscure artifacts and spells; and while he always fell asleep, he was content just listening to the animated sound of her voice.

He was known for his swordsmanship. Lina had said on more than one occasion that she could only think of one better swordsman than he, and he took that as a serious complement - a far better one than that Gioconda woman was making in trying to entice him to become her fifth husband. That'd been more than a little creepy.

Gourry was also know for his intuition, that nagging feeling in the back of his mind that told him that everything wasn't okay despite the celebrations going on in Taforashia. He stood on the balcony while the feast the king of Taforashia sent up to the group was being laid out. He watched as people danced in the streets below, hugged each other fiercely, and cried over the lost of loved ones._ It's not over yet_, he thought and prayed to whatever deities there were that he was wrong.

In any case, he'd better be prepared. Gourry turned just in time to see Pokota bound out the double doors and onto the stone ledge. The small creature's chest puffed out with pride, even though the look in the his eyes was a mixture of pride over his people and sadness over the fact that he couldn't join them.

Gourry leaned on the ledge, a smile tugging at his lips. "They look so happy," he observed.

"Yeah," Pokota said with a nod. "I don't think it's hit just how much out of time we are. The world … technology, politics, everything … it's a good decade ahead of where we are now."

"But you don't think of things like that." Gourry tilted his head toward the rising moon, and enjoyed the light breeze on his face. "You're just happy to be alive. It'll be rough, but in about nine to ten months, there'll be signs of the kingdom moving forward."

Pokota's brow furrowed. "Why nine to ten months?"

Gourry chuckled a bit. In his days as a mercenary, he'd seen war-torn countries with people grateful to be alive and the results of those celebrations of life nearly a year later. "It's nothing," he replied and changed the subject. "Say, do you mind if I borrowed the replica from you?"

"Hmm? The Sword of Light?" Pokota took the sword hilt out of its storage space and handed it to Gourry. "Sure. I don't really need it any more. I've done what I set out to do."

"Thanks." Gourry took it and noticed, not for the first time, that it just didn't feel quite right. He stared at the hilt in his hand. _It's only a copy_, he thought before closing his fingers over it, then tucked it away in his belt just out of view. If this uneasy feeling didn't pan out, he didn't want to keep it. He'd return it to Pokota before he and Lina left Taforashia.

"Hey, you never told me what happened to the original," Pokota realized. He faced Gourry. "Lina said you were the Swordsman of Light and it's true. You handle the replica better than any of us, like you were born to do so. How was the original Sword of Light lost?"

Gourry's gut churned uncomfortably, but he didn't dare let Pokota see that. Instead, he smiled. "It's a long story."

"Yeah, but …"

"Hey, food's ready!" Lina bounced onto the balcony and grabbed Gourry's arm, hauling him back into the room where Amelia and Zelgadiss were quickly trying to load their own plates before Hurricanes Lina and Gourry hit. "If you don't get your share, I'm eating all this myself!"

——-

_Kingdom of Taforashia - 30 minutes before the battle between Lina Inverse and Rezo the Red Priest_

In the middle of eating a most excellent side of marbled beef, Lina tossed down a bone and stood, stretching. She glanced at Pokota, Amelia, and Zelgadiss watching the celebrations from the balcony and make her decision. "I'm hitting the washroom," she informed Gourry, "then let's take a walk."

"Okay." Grabbing one last piece of meat, Gourry abandoned his own plate. They took turns in the washroom, Lina being very good and only nibbling at Gourry's food while she waited on him, then headed out into the city.

Lina also had keen intuition. Something about this entire set up never felt right to her, not from the moment she'd heard that Rezo's soul had been sealed inside the jar. Rezo had spoken like he knew the events of the battle against Shabranigdu, though there should be no way possible the soul should know that. According to what Pokota and Wizer had told them before the fight with Zanaffar, Rezo's experiment with Taforashia had taken place more than ten years earlier. Lina had been barely 10 years old at the time, and hadn't even begun the experiments that led to the creation of the Giga Slave much less started down the route that eventually led her to Rezo the first time.

Which means, she thought as she and Gourry made their way toward the spot where Rezo had been resurrected, that the rest of Rezo's soul had rejoined the portion in the jar after that particular battle. And if that piece had done so, then could it also mean … the thought made Lina's blood run cold. If Rezo had what she thought he had done, there was a very good possibility that none of them would survive the night. She considered her options and they were quite few. There was no way to do Fusion Magic, not without Filia there to control the Holy Magic needed. Amelia didn't know it, and Lina didn't want her, Zelgadiss, or Pokota involved. They'd been through enough.

And Gourry …

"Say, why don't you go back? I think the dessert tray's probably out," she blurted out.

Gourry rolled his eyes. "That's a pathetic one."

Lina glared at him. "What does that mean?"

He nudged her side and ruffled her hair fondly. "You're thinking of a way to protect me from whatever it is that's scaring you at the moment. I'm your bodyguard. I'm not letting you go face whatever it is that has you so worried by yourself." He smiled softly at her, not wanting to bother her with his own sense of uneasiness twisting in his gut.

"It's probably nothing," Lina lied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I just want to have a chat with Rezo, clear some things up before we leave Taforashia." But she allowed the other hand to slip into Gourry's. For the first time that night, Lina was at peace with whatever lay ahead of them. If her hunches were right and she had to make a terrible decision once more, this time she wouldn't be alone.


	2. Part One

**Author's Note:** This part takes place just prior to the final scene of Evolution-R 13 before the epilogue montage begins. This chapter is dedicated to **parareality** on LiveJournal for her fanart of Lina and Gourry from right after the battle, of which a scene of this is based on and to **catgabriev** on LiveJournal for her translations of certain L/G scenes from novels 13-15 that also inspired conversation. Please note that the dialogue at the end of this part is loosely based on the script for Evolution-R 13.

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Part One: Today, He Is Going On With the Rest of His Life

_Kingdom of Zefielia: During the battle between Lina Inverse and Rezo the Red Priest_

Luna Inverse knew every time her younger sister cast the Giga Slave.

It was part of the joy that came with being the Knight of Ceiphied - knowing when your baby sister was about to make an incredibly stupid mistake that could possibly extinguish the entire universe. The last time Lina had done this, Luna punished her by forcing her to help out that golden dragon, Filia. That had turned out to be a good move, all things considered.

It happened not long before dawn. She didn't even remember dream. She simply woke, fled into the bathroom and hunched over the washbasin, bringing back up her dinner. She was still coughing when mage light lit the room, when her mother gently asked if she was okay.

"Well," Luna managed after taking the glass of water her father offered, "we're not dead yet."

Neither Inverse parent said a word as Luna regained her equilibrium. She took a long, deep drink of water and moved to the small window, pushed aside the curtain. She couldn't actually see anything outside, she could only feel the spell that threatened to bring the entire universe back into chaos.

She gripped the windowsill tightly, fought back the urge to throw up once more. Suddenly, miraculously, it passed and Luna felt normal.

"Luna?"

With a smirk, she turned back to her parents. "Well, what do you know? Lina didn't manage to kill us after all."

——-

_Kingdom of Taforashia: Ten minutes after the final battle_

Lina was out a good five to ten minutes. It took her a moment to remember what happened, but as soon as she did, she sat up quickly. All the blood rushed to her head and she nearly blacked out again. She pressed her hand to her forehead until the world stopped spinning, then slowly let it drop as she surveyed the area.

Zelgadiss had roused himself and was hunched over Amelia, eyes wide with fear as he used wood from the rubble and the tattered remains of his cloak to splint her arm before casting a Recovery on her. Amelia was awake as well, talking softly to Zelgadiss. She was smiling softly at him and from the way her lips moved, Lina realized she was reassuring the worried chimera.

The fist around her heart loosened a bit as she watched the couple interact, but then seized up once more as she whipped her head around like a wolf in search of its mate. Her gaze zeroed in on a heap of blue and blond and she scrambled across the rubble, unable to fully drag herself to her feet. She wound up crawling the few feet to Gourry's side, fearing the absolute worst.

The moment she reached him, his eyes opened and locked on hers. After a moment, he smiled. "Good morning, sunshine," he said in a voice raspy from the heat and smoke from the battle.

"Gourry..." The range of emotions that Lina had suppressed during the battle surged forward at the sound of his voice. She sucked in a breath and tried to block out the images of him sacrificing himself for her, yelling about how he believed in her. Even when the replica Sword of Light had failed, he'd used his body to shield her from the attacks, knowing that she needed time to cast the spell that could either save or destroy them all.

She grabbed his hand, the other finding its way to his heart. Her hand trembled as she moved it over the battered breastplate. His chest armor was still intact, but she swore she could feel his heart beating, alive and strong beneath her hand and metal. She fought a losing battle against tears and finally gave into them. She pressed his dirt-covered hand to her lips, kissing it as she cried. He was alive. She'd cast the Giga Slave, they were alive and they even remembered it this time.

She felt him shift, lift up a bit. "It's okay to cry, Lina," he whispered.

"I'm not crying," she muttered a bit stubbornly against his hand.

"We made it." He gave her another gentle smile. "You kept strong, and you saved us. You deserve to cry."

"Oh shut up," she scolded gently and pressed her hand down into his chest. She started to summon whatever energy she had left to cast a Recovery spell, but Gourry's free hand quickly moved up and covered hers.

"No," he told her firmly.

"But ..."

"I'll be okay. Don't push yourself." He ran his thumb up and down the back of her hand.

"Idiot," Lina managed to laugh amidst her tears. She gave him a soft look that was only reserved for him in the moments where absolutely no one was around and she could swear she felt she'd been in this situation before - with the feeling of elation and sheer joy from the fact that he was alive. She lifted her head to see him staring at her with a blazing look, eyes dark and full of purpose. The hand on his chest slipped up, around his neck, bringing him close as her lips settled over his.

The kiss was soft and tasted of dirt and the salt from Lina's tears. Her breath hitched a bit and her lips parted, taking the kiss a bit deeper. They remained like that, frozen in their own moment in time, the world shrunk down to just the two of them as they kissed. After a moment, or was it hours, they broke apart and smiled at each other. Things wouldn't be the same after that, but neither of them particularly minded at that moment. They were alive and together. That's all that mattered.

——-

As Zelgadiss kept healing Amelia, Lina managed to pull herself onto a nearby boulder. She watched as the sun rose over the decimated area of the city. _Congratulations_, she told herself, _you've managed to destroy a good chunk of two large cities within months of each other! _Wisps of snow white hair blew in front of her eyes and she pushed them away. She was exhausted and heartsick. Gourry was okay. So was Amelia and Zelgadiss. But Pokota …

Almost as if hearing her thoughts, Gourry spoke up. "Pokota? Where is he?"

Tears clogged her throat again. "During the fight, Pokota released the seal on his own Hellmaster's har so he could take over the body that the Dark Lord did. He forced Rezo and the Dark Lord out, giving me enough time to cast the Giga Slave. But in doing that …" Her voice trailed off.

"In doing that," Zelgadiss prompted her.

"No," Amelia whispered, realizing what Lina was implying. "Then Pokota-san …"

"His body, along with his soul, was destroyed when I cast the Giga Slave." It was something that Lina knew she would carry as a burden for the rest of her life. "It's just … after all he went through to save the country, he was suppose to get Taforashia back on its feet again."

"Whaddya mean? Who says I won't be helping out?" Lina suddenly felt a warm weight atop her head and her eyebrows winged skyward to see Pokota peering down at her. He suddenly leaped off to stand in front of her as Lina scrambled to her feet, adrenaline racing through her exhausted body.

"What? You're alive?" she shrieked. "How?"

Pokota grinned, thinking back to the brief exchange between himself and Rezo. "Just a bit of this and that!"

"What do you mean a bit of this and that?"

"It's by no means the most unusual resurrection we've seen in our time," Zelgadiss commented dryly.

Amelia tapped her chin. "Are you talking about when the Lord of Nightmares returned Lina-san and Gourry-san from the Sea of Chaos, or when Valgaav was reborn?"

"The second. Nothing can ever top an egg falling from the sky in a rain of feathers."

"You've got a point." Amelia flushed slightly as Zelgadiss draped an arm around her shoulder. She stood closer to his side as they watched Lina and Pokota argue over the logistics of Pokota being alive once more.

Suddenly, the tirade was cut off as Gourry snagged Pokota by what remained of his ears. He lifted up the small plush. "I believe your place is over there," he said cheerfully and tossed Pokota at his surprised and baffled father.

——-

As Pokota and his father reunited, the group watched on. "Now there is a happy ending," Lina commented.

"That it is," Zelgadiss agreed with a smile.

Amelia turned concerned eyes to him. "What about Rezo-san?"

He directed that gentle smile at her, and for the first time since she'd known him, Amelia saw that the haunted look was gone from Zelgadiss's eyes. "It's okay," he told her softly, then tilted his head toward the sun.

Gourry slapped Lina's back in a friendly manner. "What about you? Have you gotten homesick too, Lina?" he asked in a jovial voice.

"It's been a long time since I've been there, but I'm not in a rush to go back," Lina replied and cast a quick look at Gourry, then startled. He looked slightly crushed, and her heart skipped a beat. _He probably doesn't know the meaning of what he just said,_ she thought in a panic and remembered the kiss that they shared. She flushed. "Besides," she quickly stammered, "we've got to go find you a new sword first."

"Is that the case?" Zelgadiss teased and Lina wished for the strength to punch him.

Gourry didn't say anything for a long moment. He stared down at the sword hilt in his hand, thought of the Sword of Light, the kiss with Lina, and their most recent conversation. His eyes drifted close as memories flittered through his mind one last time - of a dark night in Elmekia, death, and a young man he barely recognized as himself leaving his family home with the legendary Sword of Light. There were so many bad memories associated with this sword, he thought. The only good thing was that time and time again he needed it to take care of Lina. She wasn't going to leave him, that much was clear. He didn't need it to protect her, not any more.

Gourry hefted the hilt and with a grunt, tossed it as far as he could. He barely heard it land in the debris, roll a few feet, then settle. One of the gems on the hilt sparkled in the sunlight and he turned away from it.

It was time to leave his past behind.

"Gourry?"

He smiled down at Lina, who was giving him a questioning look. Then he grabbed her up and swung her around like a child.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lina shrieked.

"I'm going on with the rest of my life," he said joyfully and knew that today would be a wonderful day.


	3. Part Two

**Spoiler Alert:** This part takes place just prior to the final scene of Evolution-R 13 before the epilogue montage begins and alludes to certain scenes we see in the epilogue. It should make Amelia/Zel fans very happy.

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Part 2: A Place to Call Home  

For all of her energetic projections, Lina faded quickly after the group sprinted away from the battlefield. "You know, I think it might be naptime," she informed them just seconds before pitching forward.   

Amelia snagged Lina by the back of her cloak, preventing her from landing face first in debris. Gourry immediately dashed around so Lina fell onto his back. He boosted her up as she snuggled against him and started to snore lightly. "Where should we take her?" he asked.  

"The buildings where you stayed before have not been damaged," Taforashia's king informed them. "Please, return there. Anything that you want, you only have to ask."  

"I'll go with them. Is that okay, Dad?" Pokota leaped from his father to the top of Amelia's head. "Just to get them settled."  

"Of course, my son." The king reached out and ran long, calloused fingers from the top of Pokota's head and down over his torn-off ears. "Then, I want to hear how you got into this state. I understand there's been much that I've missed over the past few months." His gaze flickered to Amelia. "Or, I suspect longer since the last I heard of Princess Amelia of Saillune was that she was just a little girl."  

"One thing at a time," Zelgadiss quickly intervened. Even though the citizens of Taforashia knew that time had passed while they were in their magically induced coma, none of them knew exactly how long it had been. It was a shock, he thought, they could handle once a better assessment of the immediate situation was taken. "We need to get the survivors into one place and tend to the wounded."  

"I can handle that," Amelia immediately volunteered.  

Zelgadiss frowned at her. "You're still injured yourself. You wore out your own magical reserves and that's a field dressing on your arm at best."  

"I can handle it, Zelgadiss-san," she repeated. "People need us."  

"Amelia."  The way he said her name caused her mouth to clamp shut and she just stared at him.  He simply gave her a look, almost like he had insight into something that eluded Amelia's knowledge. "Don't push yourself," he scolded.  

"I won't," she replied in a soothing voice. "All right. I'll go with Gourry-san and get word out to my father. There's additional supplies coming, but we're going to need even more now." She smiled at Gourry. "Shall we go?"  

Gourry nodded and Amelia fell into step with him as they bore Lina away from the battlefield. "Say, Amelia, where did you get those pigeons anyhow …" Zelgadiss heard Gourry ask as they walked away into the distance.  

Once they'd disappeared, Zelgadiss picked his way back down to the battlefield. He stood among the charred remains of buildings and humans. At his feet lay the remains of Rezo's staff and the hilt of the replica Sword of Light. He toed the staff with his foot and crouched down. He closed his eyes, remembered the young man he used to be, then rose to follow Gourry, Amelia, and Pokota.  

——-  

Zelgadiss slipped into the small dining room where they'd eaten their feast just hours earlier. He surveyed the remains of the meal - the haphazard stack of plates with greasy bits of food stuck to them that were now coated with a fine ash thanks to the battle. He absently righted a chair that'd been toppled over and sank into it, as everything hit him at once.  

Rezo was dead. Dead. Dead for good this time, unless Ceiphied forbid he had another one of those soul-sucking jars hidden somewhere. Zelgadiss gave a short bark of a laugh. It would be just his luck for Rezo to have done that. He wouldn't be surprised if somehow he had split his soul into seven pieces just like Shabranigdu did. Instead, Rezo would have left his soul embedded into objects so randomly obscure that it would take a miracle to find them all.  

But, something in his heart told him that it was really over this time. He fingered the frayed edges of his clothing and wondered if the spare set in his bag was clean. His fingers moved down over the exposed area of stone skin. He'd told Lina the truth. It was the first time he'd been truly grateful for the curse that Rezo had inflicted on him. It made him able to withstand this battle. It enabled him to heal Amelia, and protect her when she needed it. It gave him the ability to distract Rezo-Shabranigdu to the point that Gourry could protect Lina and she could pull off the Giga Slave.   

"All sent out!" Amelia chirped as she bounced back into the room. Zelgadiss smiled. She had an amazing amount of energy considered that just an hour earlier that she'd been thrown around the battlefield like a rag doll. She'd changed into fresh clothes as well, and the bandages on her arm were clean as well. "Pokota-san went to see his father, and Gourry-san's staying with Lina-san to make sure she's okay. He said, if he remembered right, she'd need a lot of food when she woke up. But ..."  

"Food's a scare commodity here at the moment," Zelgadiss guessed. "It was already strained to begin with. The supplies used for the celebration were the first wave from Saillune."  

Amelia nodded. "We were taxed before, but some of the supply wagons were destroyed in the battle."  

"When should they be here?"  

"About two days, give or take. I managed to talk to Daddy this time with the Communicate spell and he said he'd be coming out personally to speak with Taforashia's king." Amelia tapped the side of her cheek. "You know, we never asked Pokota-san what his father's name his."  

Zelgadiss's gaze dropped to Amelia's arm, nestled in a clean sling. "You should rest so you can cast Resurrection on that."  

Amelia flushed. "Well ... I think I need to wait until Sylphiel-san comes regarding that. She's also coming out with Daddy."  

Zelgadiss arched an eyebrow. "You're more skilled in healing magic than I am. You taught me what I know, and my spell was enough to serve as triage. I can rest up and try again, but I doubt it's going to suffice." His voice trailed off as he recalled the injury that Amelia had received. It wasn't just a broken limb. It almost looked like her arm had exploded inside of her skin, and his stomach lurched at the memory. "You can't go around with an arm in that condition."  

"Yes you're right," Amelia replied, her cheeks edging from pink to scarlet. "But ... I overextended myself as is, knowing that well ... I'd be unable to use my magic by this afternoon at the latest."  

Zelgadiss started to ask why, then blushed as well when the realization hit. Of course, he mentally scolded himself. "I see. Do you need to rest?"  

"I feel fine, Zelgadiss-san," Amelia insisted and smirked a bit. "You sound like a mother hen."  

"I was only trying to help. You seemed to be getting injured a quite a bit lately." His stomach rolled again as he thought of the high-pitched shriek that Amelia gave when her ribs had been crushed.  

"You haven't come off scot-free either," Amelia reminded him. "And don't use the 'I have stone skin' excuse to brush it off either."  

"But I do have stone skin."  

"You can still get injured like the rest of us!"  

Zelgadiss shook his head. Amelia pulled up a second chair and sat next to him. He turned his hand over to inspect the almost human-like skin covering his palms. Small scratches covered the flesh. "I can, yes."  

Amelia didn't say anything for awhile, almost sensing his need to enjoy the quiet. The balcony doors were still open from where they had gone in to look for Lina and Gourry prior to chasing them down. Fires, leftover from Lina and Pokota's Dragon Slaves, crackled in the distance and the low murmur of voices drifted in from the street below. Zelgadiss closed his eyes and listened to his heart beat, alive and strong.   

"When do you plan to leave?"  

He cracked over one eye to see Amelia's serene face. "You didn't even ask."  

"I didn't need to." Amelia gave him a rueful smile. "I've known you for nearly six years, Zelgadiss-san. You need time to think about everything."  

Zelgadiss had never been so grateful for Amelia's friendship as he was at that very moment. He stared at her, almost as seeing her for the first time. She'd grown up so much from the petite tagalong who idolized Lina. She'd become her own woman and a true asset to her friends, family, and kingdom. "Rezo said that there's no cure. But ..." He chuckled. "Funny enough, but I don't believe it."   

He didn't say that he heard Amelia's voice in his head saying that anything was possible.   

"I do want to take some time. Maybe not search for the cure. But as Rezo's grandson, I've got a responsibility to make sure that he doesn't have any other hidey holes that he has soul-hoarding objects in. I've learned a lot of things about Rezo in the past week, Amelia, and I've remembered a lot that I've chosen to forget. I want to make sure the rest of his labs are inaccessible."  

He fully expected Amelia to volunteer to come along. Instead, she laid a hand on her arm. "You'll come visit me in Saillune, won't you?"  

His gaze met hers. "If you'll have me ... maybe I could stay there for a little while."  

Amelia's jaw dropped in shock. Then she leaped out of her chair, knocking it to the floor as she threw her one good arm around Zelgadiss's neck. She hugged him so tightly that his already sore ribs protested. But instead of wincing, he blinked in surprise before lifting a hand and patting her back. He closed his eyes and smiled. Yes, he would go back to Saillune when he was finished. It wouldn't be a bad place to call home. After all, Amelia would be there.


End file.
